Notebook: Tech's depth not a concern

"I have a lot of confidence in those guys that are going to step into those positions," Foster said Monday. "They won't have to win this themselves."

Stepping in against Cincinnati for defensive end Jason Worilds (shoulder) and linebacker Brett Warren (knee) will be junior Nekos Brown and redshirt freshman Barquell Rivers. Brown has played so much this year, Foster said he considers him a "part-time starter," but Rivers has played just 28 defensive snaps.

"Barquell has taken a lot of snaps in practice," Foster said. "He's played in a lot of key roles in our special teams. Our players have a lot of confidence in him. He's going to do a great job."

Finishing strongIf Cincinnati takes a lead into the fourth quarter, the Bearcats are all but a sure thing. Under second-year coach Brian Kelly, Cincinnati is 21-0 when leading through three quarters.

"Clearly, what you try to establish in your program is finishing and guys that believe they can win," Kelly said. "These guys believe they can win football games and that's a mentality that when I walked in the first day we started talking about."

Return engagementThis isn't the first time Hokies Athletics Director Jim Weaver has made back-to-back trips to the Orange Bowl.

He was a young assistant at Penn State in the 1969 and 1970 games, when the Nittany Lions beat Kansas and Missouri in succession.

This is the third Orange Bowl trip in the past dozen years for the Hokies, but they are still looking for their first victory.

Record watchWith three catches, Bearcats senior wide receiver Dominick Goodman will eclipse Tom Rossley's 40-year-old record for most catches in a season (80). With seven catches and 23 receiving yards, Goodman would become the program's all-time leader in both categories.